Oh, Deer!

Spotted from our dining room window last night. Such a pretty thing and just the color of Jenny. Eating my daylilies  then moving on to weeds. . .

 

Oh, Deer!

John looked up from his computer to see three deer, not twenty feet away on the slope directly behind the house.

They were munching on the ground cover--a mix of ivy, houttuynia, periwinkle, and weeds.

This is the best I could do--shooting through screens and embarrassingly dirty windows.

After the plague that wiped out so many deer a few years back, it's nice to see these pretty critters--though come summer I'll be cursing them if they eat my hostas. 

 

Got to Get Back to the Garden

After our beautiful 2018 garden was wiped out by deer, we didn't plant one in 2019--just pots on the porch. Then a weird disease wiped out most of the deer. And so here we are, giving it another go.

John tilled up everything, ready for spinach seedlings, lettuce, bush beans, cukes, chard, beets seeded in the box beds above. . .

Peppers, tomatoes, summer squash seed, corn seed, and onions in the ground here. Waiting on watermelon and butternut squash seed. . .

It feels good and necessary in this uncertain time to be back in the garden. 

And I was cheered by the sight of a bluebird! I was sitting on the rock wall to the right in the picture above and he flew down to perch on one of those stakes in the tier below. He was closer to me than I've ever seen one and I could admire the brilliance of his feather--the irridescent blue and rusty red. He hopped back and forth from one stake to another as I slowly reach in my pocket for my little camera.

Alas, by the time I got it out and into position, he'd removed himself to another stake a few tiers lower.  Still, better than nothing for a rare capture.

I'm choosing to see him as a good omen for the garden.

Three Fawns

Really, there are three -- I just didn't manage to get them in one shot. 

They've been roaming round this hillside for a week now.

 I fear they may have been orphaned by the disease that has killed so many deer. But they seem to be eating and look healthy so far . .  

I'm kinda surprised to find myself wishing them well--even if they come after my hostas.

Oh, Deer!

"At least 40 deer have been reported dead, primarily in the Little Pine and Big Pine Communities, according to Justin McVey of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

"Test results . . . pointed to epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) as the likely cause.

"'It's a very common disease in the Southeast that usually shows up every five years or so,' McVey said. 'It's a natural cycle and will probably die off with first frost.'"

(The full article is HERE)

We are located right between Big and Little Pine which may make us the epicenter of this plague. John and Justin have hauled off three dead deer from our property -- that's three that they've seen. And there was an obviously sick one spotted. Who knows what's up in the woods? The vultures do.

The disease is spread by no-see-ums and can affect cattle. We've had two cows apparently with the disease. John gave them antibiotics and they seem to have recovered.

Much as I've complained about the deer and what they've done to my garden, I hate seeing this happen. But thinning the herd is a natural response to overpopulation. Perhaps there will be enough natural browse for the survivors that they won't have to forage in our yard. 

And speaking of thinning the herd--why is there so little mention of the fact that most of humanity's current problems are caused by overpopulation?

Oh, Deer!

This is why we can't have nice things  gardens.